ELEPHANT CORNER: Call The Roller Of Big Cigars…

Tuesday night, Republican City Committee held a cigar fundraiser at the United Republican Club. The event was very well attended despite the icy snow and rain. Each attendee received a pack of cigars and had the opportunity to pair the cigars with tastings of scotch and bourbon. Two cases of wine from Moldova were also available for tasting. I mention this as the wine was superb and that Moldova was in the news that day as the Russians staged military training exercises in eastern Moldova adjacent to Ukraine. State Rep. and RCC CHAIRMAN JOHN TAYLOR thanked the crowd for their support of the Republican Party. He acknowledged the host committee and gave special thanks to the head of the committee, BILL PETTIGREW.

STATE REP. JOHN Taylor hosted a cigar-themed fundraiser United Republican Club on Wednesday, March 28. (Photo: Rory McGlasson)

Monday night, the Mayfair Civic Association held its Candidates Night. JOE DEFELICE, executive director of the RCC, is also president of the Association. Both candidates for the special election for City Council at Large, MATT WOLFE and ED NEILSON, were there. They were extremely cordial to one another. Neilson, the Democratic candidate, probably believes he has it in the bag and thus has no need to be controversial. Wolfeâ€™s attacks for the most part have been aimed at City Council, of which Neilson is not a member. Neilson is currently the State Representative of Dist. 169. Wolfe was formally selected to be our candidate in the special election by a unanimous vote of the Republican ward leaders last Wednesday night.

Last Thursday night there was a fundraiser for Taylor at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5â€™s hall. The host committee included JIM DiVERGILIS, TOM MATKOWSKI, TOM McCUSKER and FRANK CANTY. The event was billed as â€œMarch Madness with John Taylorâ€. Unfortunately the crowd watched the St. Joe Hawks lose. The event was nicely attended.

At this point I am handing over the quill to a female in the herd. While I do not believe the Republican Party is engaged in war on women as many Democrats contend, I think it best to have a woman address the latest drama surrounding ATTORNEY GENERAL KATHLEEN KANE.

“Once again I think of Kaneâ€™s campaign slogan â€“ send a prosecutor to Harrisburg and not a politician. And once again I marvel how inappropriate that adage was during the campaign and now. Her opponent in 2012 was a seasoned prosecutor with far more courtroom experience, but she continued pushing the slogan and the mainstream media failed to call her on it.

“Special handling by the mainstream media appears to have ended. Kane made what appears to be a flawed decision based either on poor judgment or political motivation. She decided not to pursue the prosecution of four local Democratic elected officials who were caught on tape accepting illegal contributions. Kane claimed that the cases against these public officials could not be successfully prosecuted, as the investigation conducted by prosecutor FRANK FINA and investigator CLAUDE THOMAS was racially motivated. The lobbyist, TYRON ALI, who assisted the Attorney Generalâ€™s office in the sting, was given a deal that greatly reduced the pending charges against him. Kane said that the jury would not buy his testimony in part because Aliâ€™s deal was too good.

“However, the Commonwealth had these politicians on tape. Prosecutors frequently give deals to bad people, including murderers, in order to put away worse actors. This point was made in an editorial written by Philadelphia DISTRICT ATTORNEY SETH WILLIAMS. Williams, the only elected African American prosecutor is Pennsylvania, was outraged that Kane suggested Fina and Thomas, who now work for him, were racially motivated. Williams stated, ‘I have seen racism. I know what it looks like. This isnâ€™t it.’

“When Kane heard beforehand of the editorial, she requested a meeting with the paperâ€™s editorial board. However, when she arrived for the meeting under advice of her attorney RICHARD SPRAGUE, she declined to discuss the issue. Bringing an attorney I understand, but someone as controversial as Sprague?